In particular the Pomahaka and the whole of the Taieri look good. The Mataura is dropping nicely and with a good forecast should be ideal on Sunday.
Water temperatures dropped early in the week but were still well above the average and are rising again. Higher temperatures tend to extend mayfly hatches and reduce the intensity, giving the fly fisher a greater chance of catching rising trout.
On still waters the number of damsel flies on the water has risen, although I have not seen any rises to the adults so a nymph is still the way to go.
There are a lot of sedges about which suggests that an evening rise is likely, although I have not stayed out as late as necessary to find out.
I was on the lower Taieri the other day after 6pm and there were mayflies hatching most of the time I was there so a late hatch or a fall of spinners could also be expected.
I have been fishing a couple of times over the past week.
The first session was on the Waipahi which was quite low and pleasantly warm for wet wading.
The were mayfly spinners on the water on and off all day but few rises.
There were also a few duns hatching an no rises to them either.
Hopefully there will be a few rises this Saturday for the Waipahi Gold Medal competition.
I had a little success on my visit there and caught a few fish mostly in about a half-hour spell in the afternoon.
The few fish I caught were of good size and in good condition and all were caught on a hare’s ear nymph. My other day on the water was on Monday when Murray Smart George McInnes and I fished the Maniototo dams.
We had been keen on fishing Blakely’s after having great fishing there last season.
We found few fish rising and did not have a take between us for the whole morning.
There is very little weed in any of the dams at the moment which makes fishing easy but, does not make catching fish easy.
We will be back.
In the afternoon we moved on the Rutherford’s Dam which, like Blakely’s was full and clear with little weed.
Very pleasant fishing, as it was calm and warm and there were enough rises to hold the attention.
There were lots of midge shucks in the edges which suggests there would be a rise to hatching midge early and late in the day.
We caught fish on damsel fly nymphs and water boatmen fished slow and deep.
One fish that I caught had three goes at the fly before being hooked, first just a bump then a hard hit then a solid take for a happy ending.
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